Connect NAS to your Mac Directly with Ethernet

Internet connection sharing is a build-in feature in OS X 10.10 on Mac mini (Late 2012). I connect to Asus RT-AC51U with 802.11n but NAS with Gigabit Ethernet for better performance. NAS may share internet through Mac mini.

Setup Internet Connection Sharing

It is well written on Apple support. Here are my steps to share Internet from 802.11n to Gigabit Ethernet.

1. Launch [Sharing] in [System Preferences].
2. Set [Share your connection from] to [Wi-Fi] which is the configuration name for 802.11n device.
3. Set [To computer using] to [Ethernet] which is for Gigabit Ethernet device.
4. Click on [Internet Sharing] to enable.

Now, we need to get the IP address to login to web admin.

Look for IP Address for QTS Device

For QNAP devices, launch Qfinder before turning on NAS. It will show up in the list with IP address. If you turn on NAS before launching Qfinder, it won’t be able to find it.

You may also look into system.log in OSX to find IP address.

In terminal, use vi to open system.log:

Mac-mini:~ Amigo$ vi /var/log/system.log

Because my TS-119PII has a server name [ts119pii] in [Control Panel]→[System Settings]→[General Settings]→[Network]→[System Administration] Tab→[Server name], look for string [OFFER sent ts119pii] with command [/] in vi. It find out a log with an IP address assigned to [ts119pii]:

Mar 4 12:39:58 Mac-mini bootpd[792]: OFFER sent ts119pii. 192.168.2.8 pktsize 300

Now, I know TS-119PII is 192.168.2.8.

Look for IP Address for DSM Device

For Synology devices, Synology Assistant won’t help.

You need to manually look into system.log in OSX. Its server name is available in [Control Panel]→[Network]→[General] Tab→[Server Name] on NAS.

My DS214SE has a server name [DS214SE] and is found in log as:

Mar  4 18:24:32 Mac-mini.local bootpd[1288]: OFFER sent DS214SE. 192.168.2.10 pktsize 300

Therefore, DS214SE is 192.168.2.10.

Look for IP Address for WSS Device

For Thecus Windows Storage Server devices, MacConnector won’t help. Even you know the IP address, MacConnector won’t find your Thecus Windows Storage Server device.

You need to manually look into system.log in OSX. Its server name is available in [Control Panel]→[System and Security]→[System]→[Computer name] on NAS.

My Thecus W5000 has a server name [MyWSS5000] and is found in log as:

Mar 29 15:20:01 Mac-mini bootpd[962]: OFFER sent MyWSS5000 192.168.2.11 pktsize 300

Therefore, Thecus W5000 is 192.168.2.11.

Look for IP Address for ADM Device

For Asustor devices, launch Control Center before turning on NAS. It will show up in the list with IP address. If you turn on NAS before launching Control Center, it won’t be able to find it.

If you look into system.log in OSX, the server name in [System Information]→[Network] Tab→[Server name] on NAS is not available in the log file. You need to search for “OFFER sent” or <no hostname> and test one by one.

My AS-602T has a server name [AS-602T] and is found in log as:

Apr  8 19:26:05 Mac-mini bootpd[300]: DHCP DISCOVER [bridge100]: 1,10:bf:48:8a:d:c2
Apr  8 19:26:05 Mac-mini bootpd[300]: OFFER sent <no hostname> 192.168.2.15 pktsize 300

After trial and errors, AS-602T is 192.168.2.15.

More thoughts

I also read another solution to find your NAS by broadcasting in AskDifferent: How do I find the IP addresses assigned to devices connected via Internet Sharing on Snow Leopard?

Unfortunately, I cannot find the broadcast IP address on Gigabit Ethernet and fail.

If you cannot find IP address assigned to your NAS, you may stop-then-start your [Internet Sharing] in [Sharing] in [System Preferences] again.

Reference

1. Apple: Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac
2. Apple: Mac mini (Late 2012) – Technical Specifications
3. Apple: OS X
4. Apple: OS X Mavericks: Share your Internet connection
5. AskDifferent: How do I find the IP addresses assigned to devices connected via Internet Sharing on Snow Leopard?
6. Asustor
7. Asustor: AS-602T
8. Asustor: ASUSTOR Control Center
9. Asus: RT-AC51U
10. Microsoft: Download Center: Windows Server Essentials Connector for Windows Server 2012 R2
11. QNAP
12. QNAP: Qfinder
13. QNAP: TS-119PII
14. Synology
15. Synology: DiskStation DS214SE
16. Synology: Synology Assistant Release Notes
17. Thecus: Windows Storage Server
18. Thecus: W5000
19. Wiki: Gigabit Ethernet
20. Wiki: IEEE 802.11n-2009
21. Wiki: IP address
22. Wiki: vi

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